Transportable mooring buoy assembly

ABSTRACT

A readily transportable offshore mooring buoy assembly is disclosed. The mooring buoy comprises a floating platform mounted on a pair of pontoons. The platform houses an explosive embedment anchor assembly and the apparatus required to put the anchor in place in order to anchor the mooring buoy. Prior to anchoring the mooring buoy, the anchor assembly is housed on the mooring buoy in approximately a horizontal position. The apparatus used to place the anchor assembly in a vertical position and to lower the anchor into the water is air controlled. The air supply is carried on the mooring buoy. The anchor embedding operation can be carried on remotely from a boat used to tow the mooring buoy in place. The mooring buoy and boat are both of such size that they can be readily transported to the location where the mooring buoy is to be anchored.

[451 Jan. 22, 1974 United States Patent [191 Christians et al.

TRANSPORTABLE MOORING BUOY Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix ASSEMBLY Assistant Examiner-Gregory W. OConnor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward J. Kelly; Herbert inventors. John A. Christians, Springfield, Va., Berk Glenn S Ovrevik Francis M. Cevasco, Oxon Hill, Md.

The United States of America as [73] Assignee:

ABSTRACT A readily transportable offshore mooring buoy assemrepresented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC.

June 1, 1972 bly is disclosed. The mooring buoy comprises a float- [22] Filed:

ing platform mounted on a pair of pontoons. The plat- [211 A N 258,691 form houses an explosive embedment anchor assembly and the apparatus required to put the anchor in place in order to anchor the mooring buoy. Prior to anchoring the mooring buoy, the anchor assembly is housed on the mooring buoy in approximately a horizontal 206 A position. The apparatus used to place the anchor as- 9/8 R, 114/206 A B63b 21/52, B63b 21/28 R m 00 u 9 m h 0 c u r a n e u S b 1 C s te nn] UIF HH8 555 [Ill sembly in a vertical position and to lower the anchor [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS into the water is air controlled. The air supply is carried on the mooring buoy. The anchor embedding 114 435 x operation can be carried on remotely from a boat used 114/206.1 to tow the mooring buoy in place. The mooring buoy Renz et al. R and boat are both of such size that they can be readily Meslel' 9/8 R transported to the location where the mooring buoy is Saurin et al. 9/8 P to be anchored Standridge et 9/8 R X 12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN? 2 i SHEET 2 OF 3 TRANSPORTABLE MOORING BUOY ASSEMBLY The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the Government for Governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalties thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to mooring buoys and more particularly to a readily transported self-contained mooring buoy and anchor assembly for the mooring buoy.

Offshore mooring buoys are well known in the art. These devices are used, for example, to moor oil tankers offshore where the water near the shore is not sufficiently deep to accommodate the tanker. After the tanker is secured to the mooring buoy or buoys, the oil from the tanker is pumped to shore through oil pipes that are run from the shore through the water to the mooring structure. These prior art mooring structures are generally rather large and bulky structures. These large bulky structures are generally unassembled and must be assembled at the site where they are to be lo cated. Assembling these structures at the site can be difficult and time consuming. If these structures are preassembled, it is difficult to transport them to the location where they are to be used. They can, of course, generally be towed by a large ship but towing any great distance or through rough waters is time consuming, difficult and in case of rough waters often not practi cal. Furthermore, once these structures are in place, they are rarely moved to a new location even if they are no longer needed at their present locations because of the difficulty and expense of disassembly and transportation.

The mooring buoy of this invention is readily transportable. It can be assembled or disassembled in sections that are easily assembled, transported by ship or by air, or it can be towed. If transported by air, it would normally be disassembled. It can be anchored at one location, cut free from its anchor and moved to a new location without any undue difficulty or expense.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The mooring buoy assembly of this invention comprises a floating platform secured to a pair of pontoons. The floating platform carries an explosive embedment anchor assembly and the apparatus used to operate the anchor assembly. The mooring buoy also has a tow line secured at its bow and a mooring hook secured to its stem.

The mooring buoy is transported either completely assembled or in dismantled modular form to the location where it is to be used. It can be transported by ship or by helicopter or airplane. The mooring buoy is lowered overboard if on a ship, or if on an aircraft either unloaded and pulled off a beach or dropped into the water. A small power boat is also dropped or lowered overboard or launched from the beach, as the case may be. The small power boat is tied to the tow line of the mooring buoy and the mooring buoy is towed to the exact spot where it is to be anchored.

The explosive embedment anchor assembly is housed on the mooring buoy in an approximately horizontal position and the apparatus used to operate the anchor is secured to the buoy. The entire assembly is so designed that the anchor assembly and other apparatus forms a compact package on the buoy. However, the anchor assembly must be raised to a vertical position before the anchor can be lowered into the water to anchor the mooring buoy in place. The apparatus used to raise the anchor assembly to the vertical position and lower the anchor into the water is air controlled. The mooring buoy carries its own sources of air. These air sources are connected to a control unit by air hoses and the apparatus is also connected to this control unit by air hoses. Air hoses are also run from the small boat to this control unit. The small boat houses a control console used to control the uprighting of the anchor assembly from its approximately horizontal position to the vertical position and the subsequent lowering of the anchor into the water. After the anchor is explosively embedded into the ocean floor, the dragcone and gun barrel assembly normally used with explosive embedment anchors may be raised to the mooring buoy and reseated in its horizontal position. This operation is also carried out by means of the control console in the small boat. The anchor part actually embedded in the ocean floor is secured to the mooring buoy by a riser line.

After the mooring buoy is properly anchored, the air hoses are uncoupled from the control console and the line between the mooring buoy and the boat is disconnected. The mooring buoy is now ready to have a ship tie up to its mooring hook. If the mooring buoy is no longer needed in its present location, it can be cut free from its anchor and moved to a new location. Of course, the anchor assembly will have to be rebuilt or replaced since all that remains of the assembly after the mooring buoy is anchored is the dragcone and gun barrel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAIWNG A complete understanding of the invention can be obtained from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the annexed drawing. in which:

FIG. I is a pictorial view showing the port side of the mooring buoy;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view showing the starboard side of the mooring buoy;

FIG. 3 is a pictorial view showing the underside of the mooring buoy with the anchor removed;

FIG. 4 is another pictorial view of the mooring buoy with the anchor removed;

FIG. 5(a) is a schematic representation of the mooring buoy and its control boat;

FIG. 5(b) is a pictorial view of the control console;

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the mooring buoy showing the anchoring of the mooring buoy; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation showing the mooring buoy after it has been anchored.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring first to FIGS. 1 thru 4, which are pictorial views of the mooring buoy of this invention, these tigures show that the mooring buoy 1 is basically a floating platform. The platform is kept afloat by means of a pair of pontoons 3 and 5. A deck panel 7 is secured along pontoon 3 and a second deck panel 9 is secured along pontoon 5. A third wide deck panel 11 is secured to both deck panels 7 and 9 at the bow of mooring buoy l. A fourth deck panel 13 slightly more narrow than deck panel llll is secured to both deck panels 7 and 9 at the stern of mooring buoy l. The panels are secured to the pontoons or other panels by welding or by any other suitable means. As is apparent from FIGS. 1 thru 4, this arrangement of deck panels provides a discontinuous deck that has an opening generally in the center of mooring buoy l.

Opening 15 is provided to accommodate the explosive embedment anchor assembly 117. Anchor assembly 17 is not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. While anchor as sembly 17 is shown in FIGS. l and 2, it is also shown schematically in FIGS. 5(a), 6 and 7. As shown in these figures, anchor assembly 17 comprises a gun barrel 2, the dragcone 4, the anchor projectile 6 and fuse assembly 8. The entire assembly is in an approximately horizontal position as shown in FIGS. l and 2 prior to use.

Gun barrel 2 is detachably housed in seat 19 ofa rotating assembly 21 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Rotating assembly 21 is also shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but seat 19 is not visible in these figures.

Rotating assembly 2l has a sprocket 23 attached to one end thereof. Sprocket 23 is chain driven by means of the chain 27 and the gear box, brake and air motor 29 secured to deck panel lll. Sprocket 23 can also be driven by means of the removable hand crank assembly 31 shown more clearly in FIG. 1.

A metal cable 33 is secured to gun barrel 2. The actual connection of cable 33 to gun barrel 2 is not visible in FIGS. l and 2 but is shown schematically in FIG. 6. Cable 33 follows along the bottom of the arm 35 then around the pulley 37 which is housed inside arm 35 as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. (Pulley 37 is shown schematically in FIG. 6.) After cable 33 passes over pulley 37, it follows along the top of arm 35 and then around the winch 39. As will be more apparent later, cable 33 is used to lower anchor assembly 117 into the water and then to retrieve gun barrel 2 and cone 4 after projectile 6 has been embedded. Winch 35 is driven by an air brake, clutch, air motor and gear assembly generally indicated by the numeral 41. The mechanism indicated at 46 is a drag control device. The brake, motor and gear assembly 41 are coupled to winch 39 by means of a chain 43 partially visible in FIG. l. The sprocket and chain arrangement as connected between winch 39 and air brake, air motor and gear assembly 41 is hidden by the cover 44. However, the exact physical features of the drive arrangement and for that matter the exact structure of sprocket 23, chain 25 and motor 27 are not critical to this invention. Any other suitable brake, motor and drive arrangement could be used. However, air control and chain drive are preferable. A winch release arrangement not shown can be provided in a conventional manner in case the air brake fails to release.

The air bottles 42 are mounted to deck panel l3 as shown in FIGS. l and 2. The four air bottles 42, two on each side, are connected to a control unit 45 by means of the air hoses 47 and 49. Control unit 45 is protected by the cover 51. A plurality of air hoses 53 shown free at one end are connected to control unit 45 at the bow end of control unit 45. A second plurality of air hoses 55 emanate from the stem end of control unit 45 and although not fully visible in FIGS. l and 2 are connected at their other ends to the air controlled apparatus. The free ends of air hoses 53 are connected to the control console 14 to provide remote control of the apparatus. Although not shown, a control console 14 can be and most likely would be mounted directly on mooring buoy ll so that the apparatus could be operated locally as well as remotely. The details of control console 14 are shown in FIG. 5. As shown in this Figure, console 14 has four levers 70 thru 73. These levers 70 thru 73 control the rotation of the anchor assembly, the lowering of the anchor and the retrieval of the dragcone 4 and gun barrel 2 as will become apparent.

In addition to the apparatus described, mooring buoy 1 has a tow line 24 secured to the pontoon rings or eyes 26. Tow line 24 is provided to tow mooring buoy l to the exact spot where it is to be anchored. An anchor ring 57 is connected to an equalizer plate 58 which is secured to deck panel ill by means of shear pins (not shown). A pair of cables 60 are secured at one end to deck panel ll and at the other end to plate 58. The anchor riser line 20 shown in FIG. 6 is secured to ring 57. A mooring hook 59 is provided to tie up a ship after mooring buoy l is anchored in place.

Now that the structural features of mooring buoy l have been described, the use and mode of operation of mooring buoy ll will be described by reference to FIGS. 5 thru 7. Mooring buoy 1 is of such size that it is readily transportable to the site where it is to be located. Mooring buoy 1 can be transported by ship, helicopter or by means of an airplane such as a 0123 type airplane or it can be towed by a boat. If the mooring buoy is transported by air, it will be disassembled into smaller modules that can readily be assembled in the water or on a beach near the site where it is to be anchored. If mooring buoy l is to be assembled on a nearby beach, it is unloaded, assembled and then towed to the anchor site by boat 10. If it is to be dropped into the water from the airplane, it will be dropped in sections. A crew and boat 10 will also be dropped. The crew will assemble mooring buoy l in the water and then tow it to the exact spot where it is to be anchored, if towing is necessary. Assume, however, for this discussion that mooring buoy l and boat ll) are lowered into the water from a ship. The operating personnel will, of course, also be lowered into the water. The operators will then hook tow line 24 to boat 10 and rings 26 of mooring buoy 1, start up boat 10 and tow mooring buoy l to the precise spot where it is to be located. After mooring buoy l is towed in place, air hoses 53 are connected to control console 14. Control console I4 is used to control the air motors on mooring buoy 1.

When mooring buoy l is in place and the air hoses are connected, mooring buoy l is ready to be anchored in place. The operator by means of the levers thru 73 on control console 14 first operates air motor 29 to move anchor assembly 17 out of its approximately horizontal position shown in FIGS. l and 2 to a vertical position, as schematically indicated in FIG. 6. Anchor assembly l7, arm 35 and winch 39 all move from the horizontal position to the vertical position as schematically indicated in FIG. 6. Rotating assembly 21 turns in a counter clockwise direction (facing sprocket 23) to move arm 35 and anchor assembly 17 into the vertical position.

After anchor assembly 17 is moved into the vertical position, it is then in position to be lowered into the water. This is accomplished by releasing the air brake of brake, air motor and gear assembly 411. Winch 39 is now free to rotate to lower anchor assembly 17 and cable 33 into the water, as shown in FIG. 6. Drag control 46 limits the rate of descent of the anchor assembly 17.

FIG. 6 shows anchor assembly 17 partially lowered into the water. When the fuse arm or trigger 16 hits the ocean floor 118, it triggers fuse 8 which in turn detonates the explosive charge housed in gun barrel 2 to explosively drive anchor projectile 6 into ocean bottom 18. Anchor projectile 6 is secured to mooring buoy l at ring 57 by means of the riser 2t). Riser may be a nylon rope or a chain or the like. Riser 20 is not shown in FIGS. 1 thru 4. Riser 20 is connected to anchor projectile 6 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and is then coiled and housed in a box (not shown) on a deck panel of mooring buoy ll. When anchor assembly 17 is lowered into the water, the box pulls open to allow riser 20 to drop into the water. The other end of riser 20 is connected to ring 57 of mooring buoy l as indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Riser 20 is, of course, secured to ring 57 before the anchor is lowered.

After anchor projectile 6 has been embedded into ocean floor 18, dragcone 4 and gun barrel 2 can be raised back up to mooring buoy l by air brake, air motor and gear assembly 411 and returned to its approximately horizontal position by air motor 29 as indicated in FIG. '7. Thus, dragcone 4 and gun barrel 2 are reusable. Of course, dragcone 4 and gun barrel 2 could be released into the water if they are not to be reused. While only the dragcone 4 and gun barrel 2 are raised after anchor projectile 6 is embedded, it should be obvious that the entire anchor assembly can be raised if there is a malfunction. If mooring buoy l is to be moved, riser cable 20 is merely cut or freed from mooring buoy l and mooring buoy l is moved to its new location. If dragcone 4 and gun barrel 2 have not been released they are refitted with a new anchor projectile, new fuse and a new explosive charge so that the mooring buoy ll can be now anchored in its new position in the manner described above. If released, a complete new anchor assembly is required. Of course, anchor projectile 6 could be recovered for reuse; however, in most cases this would be impractical since a great amount of force would be required to dislodge projectile 6 from ocean floor 18. Since anchor projectile 6 is explosively embedded, it will in most instances be deeply embedded into ocean floor 18.

After mooring buoy l. is anchored in place, it is ready for use. Assume that mooring buoy l is located offshore in an area that does not have a harbor that can accommodate ships. The ship will come along side mooring buoy l and tie up to mooring hook 59. If large ships are to be moored, more than one mooring buoy 1 may be required. These additional mooring buoys will, of course, be anchored in the manner described above. Any number of buoys can be provided. The cargo of the ship can then be unloaded onto smaller boats, such as landing crafts, to take the cargo to shore. If the ship tied up to mooring buoy or buoys l is an oil tanker, for example, oil lines can be run from the shore through the water to mooring buoy ll. These oil lines are attached to the tanker after she is secured to mooring buoy l and the oil from the tanker is then pumped to shore. After the ship or tanker is tied up to the mooring buoy or buoys, as the case may be, the

load applied to ring 57 will be sufficient to shear the pins (not visible in the drawing) holding equalizer plate 58 to deck panel ll. When equalizer plate 58 is free from deck plate 111, cable 60 secures ring 57 and plate ill to the buoy.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the mooring buoy assembly of this invention provides a mooring structure that is readily transported to a site and anchored in place. The mooring buoy can be used offshore or any place where mooring facilities are desired. Furthermore, it can readily be relocated. It will 1 also be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiment shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A mooring buoy assembly comprising:

a floating structure having two spaced parallel pontoons and a plurality of deck panels secured to said pontoons, said deck panels being so arranged that a substantially rectangular opening is formed in generally the center of said mooring buoy assemy;

an explosive embedment anchor assembly secured in said opening, said anchor assembly including a gun barrel, a dragcone, an anchor projectile, and a fuse assembly secured to said projectile, the assembly being so arranged that said dragcone is located between said gun barrel and said anchor projectile with said anchor projectile being operatively coupled to said gun barrel through said dragcone;

first means secured to at least one of said deck panels for rotating said anchor assembly whereby the end of said gun barrel remote from said dragcone in said anchor assembly is detachably housed in an opening provided in said first means for rotating said anchor assembly;

second means secured to at least one of said deck panels for lowering said anchor assembly to anchor said mooring buoy.

2. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said anchor assembly prior to the anchoring of said mooring buoy is so located that said gun barrel and said anchor projectile are positioned approximately horizontally in said opening.

3. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein said means to lower said anchor assembly includes a winch, and a cable wrapped around said winch and connected to said gun barrel at said end that is remote from said dragcone.

4. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein an air supply is secured to at least one of said deck panels.

5. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein said air supply comprises a plurality of compressed air tanks.

6. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein a sprocket is attached to said means to rotate said anchor assembly and wherein an air motor is secured to at least one of said deck panels and is operatively coupled to said sprocket to drive said sprocket.

7. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein a control console is coupled to said air supply.

8. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said control console is located remote from said mooring buoy.

9. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said air motor is coupled to said control console and wherein said control console includes means for operating said air motor in such a manner that said anchor assembly can be rotated from said horizontal position to a position where said gun barrel and said anchor projectile are vertical with respect to the longitudinal axis of said first and second pontoons and can be rotated back to said horizontal position.

it). The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein air controlled means are connected to said winch for operating said winch and to said control console in such a manner that said winch can be controlled by said control console to lower or raise said anchor 12. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim ll wherein a riser is connected between said mooring buoy and said anchor projectile. 

1. A mooring buoy assembly comprising: a floating structure having two spaced parallel pontoons and a plurality of deck panels secured to said pontoons, said deck panels being so arranged that a substantially rectangular opening is formed in generally the center of said mooring buoy assembly; an explosive embedment anchor assembly secured in said opening, said anchor assembly including a gun barrel, a dragcone, an anchor projectile, and a fuse assembly secured to said projectile, the assembly being so arranged that said dragcone is located between said gun barrel and said anchor projectile with said anchor projectile being operatively coupled to said gun barrel through said dragcone; first means secured to at least one of said deck panels for rotating said anchor assembly whereby the end of said gun barrel remote from said dragcone in said anchor assembly is detachably housed in an opening provided in said first means for rotating said anchor assembly; second means secured to at least one of said deck panels for lowering said anchor assembly to anchor said mooring buoy.
 2. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said anchor assembly prior to the anchoring of said mooring buoy is so located that said gun barrel and said anchor projectile are positioned approximately horizontally in said opening.
 3. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein said means to lower said anchor assembly includes a winch, and a cable wrapped around said winch and connected to said gun barrel at said end that is remote from said dragcone.
 4. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein an air supply is secured to at least one of said deck panels.
 5. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein said air supply comprises a plurality of compressed air tanks.
 6. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein a sprocket is attached to said means to rotate said anchor assembly and wherein an air motor is secured to at least one of said deck panels and is operatively coupled to said sprocket to drive said sprocket.
 7. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein a control console is coupled to said air supply.
 8. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said control console is located remote from said mooring buoy.
 9. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said air motor is coupled to said control console and wherein said control console includes means for operating said air motor in such a manner that said anchor assembly can be rotated from said horizontal position to a position where said gun barrel and said anchor projectile are vertical with respect to the longitudinal axis of said first and second pontoons and can be rotated back to said horizontal position.
 10. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein air controlled means are connected to said winch for operating said winch and to said control console in such a manner that said winch can be controlled by said control console to lower or raise said anchor assembly into and out of the water when said anchor assembly is in said vertical position.
 11. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 10 wherein said gun barrel contains an explosive charge and wherein said fuse assembly includes an actuator that extends beyond said anchor projectile whereby said fuse is activated when said actuator strikes the floor of the body of water into which said anchor assembly is lowered and said explosive charge is detonated by said fuse activation to separate said anchor projectile and drive said projectile into said floor.
 12. The mooring buoy assembly as defined in claim 11 wherein a riser is connected between said mooring buoy and said anchor projectile. 